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7,000 kilometres
off the coast of South America,

cast away in the Pacific Ocean,

the Galapagos archipelago.

Straddling the equator,

a string of over 120 tropical islands

that erupted from the deep ocean floor

more than ten million years ago.

Those swept here by storms and currents

survived million to one odds

to find untouched islands
free from competition.

These hardy pioneers

evolved in remarkable ways,

in what's known as nature's
greatest experiment.

Home to bizarre specialists

and unexpected giants,

the most precious collection

of island creatures on Earth.

There are still places on Earth
that remain pristine,

where wildlife flourishes.

These are the last regions

that could be called Eden.

When mariners first set foot
on these isles

Just 500 years ago,

to find mist shrouded peaks,

heavenly beaches,

and mythical looking beasts,

they believed they'd stepped
into a magical world.

To reach these azure shores,

every colonizer survived
a thousand kilometre voyage

across the Pacific.

Sea lions were one
of the few mammals to make it.

Arriving from North America
two million years ago,

they quickly learned to time pupping

with plentiful cold season waters.

As hungry new-borns demand
over a pint of fatty milk every day,

and this mother
has an extra mouth to feed.

Last year's youngster
Is still reliant on her, too,

as she nurses her young
four times longer

than her Californian relatives.

Just half of pups
with a competing sibling survive.

Every day, she heads out to sea,

leaving her helpless pups behind.

Other mothers follow her lead.

They're heading to a mystical place,

an extinct volcanic island,

complete with its own secret cove,

and a gathering
of expectant brown pelicans,

who have learned
that good things come to those who wait.

As they near the bay,

the chase is on

against a shoal of jacks

too fast for a lone sea lion to catch.

Using the cove as a trap,

they run the fish aground.

In the shallows,

the pelicans are the first to cash in,

able to squeeze up to ten fish
in their expandable throats.

But the female lead fleet regroups.

With all exits blocked,

this time the panicked prey
are driven right onto the beach.

A successful hunt
yields up to 30 fish for each sea lion.

This remarkable technique
Is unigue to Galapagos,

filmed here for the very first time.

Up to 15 round-ups later,

even the pelicans have had their fill.

Returning triumphant to the colony,

she listens for the distinctive call...

of her hungry youngsters.

Thanks to these rich winter seas,

this mother can provide
enough nutritious milk

not just for one pup, but two.

Using intelligence, and teamwork,

these skilful sea lions take advantage

of the abundance this Eden has to offer.

Marine life flourishes in Galapagos,

thanks to its setting

at the heart
of four rich ocean currents.

As the cold season arrives,
it's flooded with nutrients,

attracting sharks
in the world's highest densities

to feed and gather

in mesmerizing mating rituals.

And riding Antarctic
ocean highways long ago,

even penguins can thrive at the equator,

thanks to unusually cool waters.

The archipelago's most plentiful shores

lie on Fernandina volcano,

one of the most
pristine islands on Earth.

This is a land of dragons.

Home to 120,000 marine iguanas

descended from one species
of South American lizard,

which floated here
on rafts of vegetation.

On this barren rock, they adopted
a strategy found nowhere else.

They returned to the ocean.

After a morning bask,

this cold blooded male
is now warm enough

to tolerate 30 minutes
in the 16 degree winter sea.

But chilled nutrient rich waters

provide the perfect conditions

for luxuriant gardens of marine algae,

paradise for a vegetarian lizard.

Diving to more than 15 meters
on a single 12 minute breath,

and anchored by hook like claws,

he grazes through almost
40 grams of seaweed per day.

These fertile waters come with a catch.

Pacific storms fuel
four meter high breakers.

Struggling through his final mouthfuls,

with a body temperature
that's plummeted by over ten degrees,

he must head back to shore,
or risk hypothermia.

In the roughest storms,
some are lost at sea.

Collision with razor sharp lava

can inflict lethal injuries.

And as muscles sapped of strength

by the cold, begin to seize up,

it takes one last effort.

With a bask
in the tropical Galapagos sun,

he'll quickly recharge.

Just got to get rid
of all that sea salt.

A good sneeze should do the trick.

It does draw in the flies,

but luckily, this coastal spa
offers a premium service...

lava lizards.

They're a little heavy handed,

but they do a great job of pest control,

making for happy customers.

At least most of the time.

At the climax of the cold season...

boobies also profit
from these rich waters.

Dive bombing from up to 30 meters,

they hit the surface at almost
100 kilometres per hour.

Nourished with fish,
now is the perfect time to breed.

At the most northerly tip
of the archipelago,

Wolf Island provides a remote sanctuary

for nesting Nazca boobies.

Just one square kilometre
supports around 10,000.

They're a lifeline
for an innocent looking land bird,

a finch just ten centimetres tall.

Its ancestors
were marooned here millennia ago,

and without enough wing power to escape,

they turned to a life of crime,

stealing eggs from their neighbours.

But they're guarded around the clock

by protective parents
nine times their size.

Luckily, what this little bird
lacks in stature,

he makes up for

in cunning.

Darker with age,

this finch is the brains of the outfit.

He pecks at a booby's wing feathers.

Armed with the sharpest beak
of any Galapagos finch,

perfect for drawing blood,

living up to his name,
the Vampire Finch.

Such rich pickings don't go unnoticed.

Though it's little more
than a nuisance...

it's enough to drive her away.

Just what he's been waiting for.

But that shell is too thick

for even the sharpest finch beak.

He needs to hatch a plan.

Using his beak for leverage,

this wily ringleader
sets things in motion.

He's cracked it.

Though unfortunately for him,

there's no honour amongst thieves.

Now one of the Earth's newest species,

the Vampire Finch has triumphed
in this far-flung frontier.

As the hot season
arrives in Galapagos...

temperatures soar into the thirties.

And the world's only equatorial penguins

have evolved tricks

to withstand the tropical sun.

To lose heat, they've shrunk

to half the size of their ancestors,

now, just 50 centimetres tall.

They pant just like dogs...

and take advantage of the shade

that lava caves provide.

As the heat intensifies,

evaporating sea water
forms storm clouds.

Gathering at the island's
volcanic peaks,

they create the ideal conditions
for verdant forests.

On these faraway isles,

nothing is quite as it first appears.

These are groves of giant daisies.

Their seeds were small enough
to hitch a ride on birds,

and with little competition,
grew into 50-metre high trees...

to become the most
species-rich habitat

in the archipelago.

Eighty percent of Galapagos land birds

and half of its insects
are found nowhere else on Earth,

including its only native bee species,

the Galapagos carpenter bee...

whose affinity for yellow

make this one of the most
popular flower colours,

blooming with the seasonal rains.

Beyond the forests,
at the very roof of Galapagos,

its 21 volcanic summits

tower up to 1700 metres.

Lush and rain-drenched,

Alcedo's crater
provides a fertile summer oasis

for 15,000 of the island's
largest land resident,

the giant tortoise.

Surviving a year without food or water,

their substantial size
allowed them to float here

from South America.

And with no competition,

they became the only
large herbivore here.

Across Galapagos,

drinking pools allow
these normally solitary giants

to gather,

and mate.

With males double the size of females,

it's a clumsy affair.

And one of the only occasions

the impassioned males ever vocalise.

It's now that pregnant females
begin an epic trek

to their nesting grounds,
in the arid plains below.

At tortoise speed,

this pilgrimage of many miles
will take almost a month.

Seventy kilometres away,

marine iguana mothers
are on their own nesting journey...

as the Galapagos summer
warms the sand

to the perfect temperature
for their eggs.

This five-year-old female

is eager to secure
the best nesting site.

The first task is to dig
a 60-centimetre deep burrow.

But rivals are eyeing up her hard work.

With a head bob,

battle lines are drawn.

Skill and experience allows this mother

to come out on top.

And precious eggs can be laid.

But now, the female's
every move is being watched

by the island's apex predator.

Galapagos hawks.

But they know the most
effective way to tackle

these 70-centimetre long reptiles

Is to bide their time,

and wait for
the battling females to tire.

Once the iguanas are exhausted,

the hunters move in for the kill.

With a precise incision to the jugular,

the smaller, slower females
are the first to fall.

Those who take cover
should be protected.

But these clever raptors have acquired

a deadly new tactic.

Plucking the iguanas
right from their burrows.

Now, the shelter and camouflage
of the rocks is the only hope.

Thanks to sheer determination,

and the warming Galapagos sands,

this mother has safeguarded
her next generation.

As the hot season fades,

signalling the return

of the cold, nutrient-rich waters,

the sea lion colony

is anticipating the plentiful
hunting season ahead,

and its juveniles are eager to join in.

Until now,

they've spent much of their time

cooped up in a natural play pool

under the ever-watchful eye
of the beachmaster bull.

But soon, they'll be
catching fish by themselves.

So it's time to sharpen
their skills in open water.

Out here,
there's infinite space for acrobatics,

peculiar neighbours,

and endless curiosities to investigate,

which help to hone dexterity

for hunting agile prey.

But life on the wild side

comes with its dangers.

Sharks, up to two and a half metres long

have timed their appearance
with the arrival

of novice youngsters.

As the bull sounds the alarm,

the rest of the colony hangs back.

But the boisterous play

acts like a dinner bell
to the hungry shark.

With little experience of predators,

they're oblivious of the threat.

As more sharks
are drawn to the commotion,

the bull sea lion
launches a counterattack.

He may be smaller,

but by nipping at their tails,

and using his agility
to avoid razor-sharp teeth,

he drives them from the bay.

Though some are left with scars,

their lucky escape leaves them wiser

in the ways of the ocean,

allowing them to make the most

of their paradise home,

catching a wave,

for the sheer joy of it.

Thanks to its extreme isolation,

the Galapagos remained
unsettled by humans

until just 200 years ago.

But on Santa Cruz Island,

everything has changed

in just one tortoise lifetime.

This female is on her own
weeks-long trek

from the highlands to lay her eggs.

But today,
a third of her home is farmland.

Packed with nerve endings in her shell,

she can feel every scratch.

Twenty thousand people
now live on Santa Cruz.

Since humans first arrived,

over 90% of the island's tortoises

have been lost.

Still maternal instinct
drives this mother on

to the lowland clearing,

where she herself was born

up to 100 years ago.

These are the perfect sandy conditions

to excavate a 30-centimetre deep hole.

And under the cover of darkness,
she deposits her precious cargo

of around 16 tennis ball sized eggs,

which will mature
over the next four months.

Finally, hatchlings emerge.

More than a thousand times
smaller than their mother,

they're just six centimetres long.

Thanks to recent conservation efforts,

this nesting ground is now protected,

and the tortoise population
is starting to rebound.

With 97 percent of its land
now preserved,

the Galapagos
is the world's most pristine

tropical archipelago,

home to more than 2,000 species,

found nowhere else on Earth.

With our continued help,

these irreplaceable island creatures

will endure in this enchanted Eden.